The Geneva-based World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) sent an open letter to Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev on 24 June asking him to put an end to official harassment of members of the Muslim extremist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir. The text of the letter can be found on the OMCT's website (http://www.omct.org). According to the letter, the Kyrgyz Committee on Human Rights has informed the OMCT that Hizb ut-Tahrir members in Kyrgyzstan "are being targeted for their religious and political beliefs, [and] subjected to harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, ill-treatment, and potentially torture." The OMCT points out that these actions and the disproportionate prison sentences being handed down to movement members violate international law. The OMCT reports having received allegations that some Hizb ut-Tahrir members have died in prison in both Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The letter also lists a number of recent convictions of movement members without, however, alleging that the individuals involved were tortured. Some Kyrgyz human rights activists argue that because Hizb ut-Tahrir rejects violence, the authorities should stop harassing its members.